Hydraulic sorting of detrital mineral grains in the swash zone was investig
ated using data on sedimentology and how dynamics obtained from Fishermans
Beach, on the east coast of Australia, The beach is characteristically refl
ective, displaying a steep beach face composed of medium sand and virtually
no surf zone. Samples were taken from two beds enriched in heavy minerals,
and from the adjacent beds above and below The mineralogy of the samples w
as determined, and measurements of grain size and settling velocity were ob
tained. The heavy-mineral grains had both a smaller intermediate diameter a
nd a smaller settling velocity than the light-mineral grains; the differenc
e between the two mineral types was typically in the range 0.25-0.50 phi an
d 2.0-2.5 cm s(-1), respectively, On the basis of these sedimentological me
asurements alone, any one of three mineral sorting mechanisms could provide
a feasible explanation for the development of the heavy-mineral-enriched b
eds: suspension sorting, entrainment sorting, or sheer sorting, A numerical
model for smash, based on the nonlinear shallow-water wave theory, is used
to provide a quantitative description of flow dynamics in the swash zone a
t the time the heavy-mineral-enriched beds were formed. For the probable wa
ve height responsible for producing the enriched beds, modeled maximum how
velocity and bed shear stress at the mid-swash position reached 3.5 m s(-1)
and 79.51 dynes cm(-2), respectively. Given the shallow water depths and t
he lack of sorting in the horizontal direction of flow, suspension sorting
does not seem to be of overriding importance at Fishermans Beach. The large
bed shear stresses seem to also preclude entrainment sorting, because for
most of the time all mineral types are predicted to be in motion. This cont
rasts with previous studies on finer-grained beaches, where entrainment sor
ting was favored, and suggests that beach type may play a role in determini
ng the sorting mechanism operating at a particular location, Shear sorting
was found to be feasible within the modeled flow constraints at Fishermans
Beach, but it does not provide an entirely satisfactory explanation for the
observed mineral sorting patterns, We contend that the inability to unequi
vocally identify the true sorting mechanism is more a reflection of our poo
r understanding of the operation of these sorting mechanisms, particularly
within the swash zone, rather than an indication that any of these mechanis
ms are physically inoperative in the swash zone.